


It Was a Hearts and Flowers Valentine

by Tinnean



Series: Hecate House [3]
Category: The Sentinel
Genre: M/M
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-05-03
Updated: 2016-05-02
Packaged: 2018-06-06 01:58:01
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 6
Words: 19,297
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6733366
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Tinnean/pseuds/Tinnean
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>It’s Valentine’s Day, and as luck would have it, they’ll be spending it at Hecate House.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> This story has taken a left turn at Albuquerque. Alopekis are small Greek dogs. Alastrina is Greek for the protector of mankind, Demetria is a form of Demeter, the goddess of fertility. For the purpose of this story, I’ve taken liberties with the myths of Hecate and Persephone. (this is something new?) According to Aristophanes, Eros was the son of Erebus, himself the son of Chaos, and Nyx, the goddess of Night, and according to Hesiod, Nemesis was their daughter. #### indicates change of POV. ‘I love you.’ ‘Ditto,’ is from Ghost.

It was hot and humid in this rainforest of Peru. 

I stood in the middle of the clearing, taking in its wild beauty. Sunlight filtered through the leaves of the trees that formed a canopy high above the forest floor. 

I blotted the sweat that beaded at my hairline with my sleeve, then unbuttoned the neck of the Henley I was wearing and pulled it over my head. 

A hoarse, coughing grunt disturbed the silence, and my mouth went dry as I recognized the grunt as that of a hunting panther. My shirt fell from suddenly nerveless fingers. Exotically plumed birds took to the air with raucous cries, while the other inhabitants of the rainforest scrabbled into their burrows or scrambled to the safety of the uppermost branches of the trees. 

I caught a glimpse of sleek black. Excitement flashed through me, my dick grew hard, and I began to run. 

I could hear the paws of the big panther rhythmically hitting the vegetation that covered the forest floor, but they grew fainter, and I knew I was going to escape. 

That… that wasn’t what I wanted. I slowed my headlong flight to a lope, a trot, a jog, finally coming to a complete stop. 

“Well, shit.” My hands on my hips, I glared at the forest behind me. There was nothing there. And then, “Ooof!” Suddenly I found myself flying face first to the forest floor. Before I could spit the leaves from my mouth, I felt a heavy paw on my spine, and then something smooth and sharp dragged down my lower back, lightly scraping the skin and snagging the waistband of my sweatpants. I held my breath, waiting to see what those lethal claws were going to do. “What… _Hey_!” 

They drew my sweats down off my hips, leaving my naked ass exposed to view. 

It finally occurred to me that this might not a good thing, having the family jewels that close to the panther’s mouth. I tried to scramble out from under him, but a warning grunt had me freezing in place. A rough tongue licked the skin behind my balls and probed my anus, and I shivered and moaned. It could have been from fear, but it wasn’t. I spread my legs wider and offered him my ass. 

Huge paws settled on each side of my head, and soft fur caressed the length of my spine as the panther lowered himself onto my prone body. His long cock slid out of its sheath and pressed at my hole, and I moaned again. Oddly, the fact that this mating could be a painful one, that the big cat’s penis would be covered in barbs and that there was no lubricant to ease his way into me, didn’t even distress me. 

The panther’s hot breath bathed the back of my neck, and then his long, sharp white teeth closed gently over the spot where shoulder and neck joined, guaranteeing that I would hold still for his invasion. When his cock entered me, there was no pain. It slid in easily, leaving me feeling full and possessed. 

The panther’s hips began jerking, and he drove his cock deep into my bowels, gliding past my prostate with each thrust, hurling me headlong toward a climax. 

I was in a committed relationship, but I didn’t give a thought to my lover, asleep at home in Cascade. 

I raised my hips, the feeling of that lush fur against my ass and back a sensual torment. A black paw was beside my head, and I snarled and closed my teeth over it. The panther purred and licked my face with his sandpaper tongue. It distracted me enough to wonder what that tongue would feel like licking other parts of my body. 

I needed more, needed it deeper and harder, and I growled around a mouthful of fur and rocked back on his cock, and his tongue lapped over my ear, then dipped into it, tickling it, and I could see the cliff approaching fast, knew there was no way I could stop this from happening, knew I didn’t want to stop it from happening … 

“Come for me, Chief.” Jim panted in my ear, bit down on the lobe, and there it was, and I threw myself over the edge, knowing my lover was with me. 

Tremors ran through me like aftershocks, and Jim eased onto his side, taking me with him, keeping his cock in me. And I realized that some of those tremors were his. 

“God, that was fantastic. I didn’t know you had that in you.” 

“I’m cut to the quick!” But he laughed, his breath warm in my ear, and I couldn’t prevent myself from shivering. “So you had fun with the role-playing?” His hand rubbed my semen into my abdomen and chest. 

“You had to ask?” I brought his hand to my mouth and licked it clean. I felt more than heard his purr of contentment. “Next time I get to let the wolf run free?” 

“You bet. I’m looking forward to feeling your knot stretch my ass.” He nuzzled my hair away from my face and kissed my jaw. 

Before we had become lovers, neither of us had had a sexual relationship in a long time, although Jim had been seeing all those women who seemed determined to be the death of him. He had done a good job of faking it. 

But then, so had I. 

** 

I had the reputation of being a horn dog, which wasn’t fair. Up until I moved in with Jim, I was simply an equal opportunity dater. Boys, girls, I was easy. 

It didn’t surprise me to find myself in lust with Jim. He was a hottie. What did surprise me was the realization that lust had somehow turned to love, and I’d been terrified that if he learned I was ass over teakettle in lust with him, he’d toss me out of the loft so fast I’d leave skid marks on the stairs. I’d resigned myself to a sex life comprised of fantasies revolving around that buff bod and tight ass and my right hand. 

All that changed after we spent Halloween in Hecate House, the hell house I’d inherited by a fluke of fate. It had a bad reputation, and two men had been killed in the short time we’d been there. 

William ‘Buck’ Bonney was bad, a gangster, a hood, a mobster with issues. The main issue was he trusted no one, including the people who worked for him, and for this reason, he carried around his will in his suit pocket. It stated that whoever was with him at the time of his demise was his sole heir and beneficiary. 

And that turned out to be me. 

I’d been tanking up my Volvo at the Union 76 when he’d pulled up to the pump beside mine. Long story short, when the cops diverged on that particular gas station, I became his designated getaway driver. And when the cops put a few slugs into him and he died, I became his heir. 

Jim was definitely one of the good guys. He came with me to check out Hecate House, and if only for that reason, I would be forever grateful to William ‘Buck’ Bonney for leaving it to me in his will. We’d gone there as roommates who shared a condo, and returned to Cascade as roommates who shared a bed. 

Hecate House wasn’t mine for long. Bonney also had an issue with paying his income tax, and the IRS wound up taking it for his back taxes. 

They could have it. 

As if that wasn’t bad enough, and to add insult to injury, I was paid a visit at Christmas, not by St. Nick, but by Agents Swift and Moorehead, a couple of clones from the FBI, who kidnapped me – oh, yeah, it was kidnapping, no matter what they might have called it – and brought me back to that house, intent on testing out their half-assed theory of something or other. 

Jim, my hero, had come to rescue me, and we’d both wound up rescuing the Feebs from the really weird-ass shit that went down in the basement. A panel in the wall had drawn back, and an oil painting of the goddess of the crossroads had been revealed. More than that, she had stepped out of her niche, swinging a sickle with deadly intent. 

Jim was sure it was the Mizpah that saved us, the charm that said, ‘ _The Lord watch between me and thee while we are absent one from the other._ ‘ He wore one half and had given me the ‘thee’ half for Christmas. 

I had a feeling it was his spirit guide who put in an unexpected appearance. 

Whatever it was, we made it out of the basement alive, dragging along Swift and Moorehead, and tried to figure out where we stood and what was going to happen next. 

What happened next was that Assistant Director Sloan had come pounding on my front door. I’d let him in, and he’d confronted his agents, torn them both a new one, and sent them out, tails between their legs, to the gray sedan parked behind a van at the curb. 

I was seriously happy I didn’t work for him. 

He’d apologized and left, ostensibly giving them another chewing out in the sedan. 

It paid to have a partner who was a sentinel. Jim extended his hearing and was able to tell me the whole night had been a set-up. Swift and Moorehead had been acting under the orders of AD Sloan. They wanted to know why Jim and I had been the only people to survive a night in Hecate House without winding up dead or looney tunes. 

Even we didn’t know. We were just thankful. I hoped ET and Area 51 would keep them busy and away from us. 

** 

Jim softened and started slipping from me, and he caught the condom. 

“Two and a half more months, babe.” I didn’t have to explain my meaning. 

We’d been exclusive lovers since shortly after Halloween, and as soon as we’d returned to Cascade, we’d gone for blood tests. We’d both tested clean, which didn’t really surprise me. In spite of my reputation, I hadn’t had sex since the beginning of the year… 

~~~~

Jim and I had been invited to a New Year’s Eve party. The man looked awesome in a tux, and it was all I could do not to drool. As for me, I’d been able to get a rental, and though there was no way it could compete with Jim’s Geoffrey Beene, I thought I looked pretty good. I’d thought Jim thought so too. He had tugged on my hair until I tilted my head back, and he’d tied my bowtie, and I’d fantasized about what it might be like if he’d leaned down and kissed me. 

He didn’t, but even so, the evening had been going well. No matter what we did, eat, drink, dance, or who we did it with, we always wound up together again. 

“Get me a Dewars on the rocks, would you, Chief?” 

That seemed odd to me, Jim didn’t usually drink Scotch, but I was feeling no pain, so I went to the bar. I turned around while the bartender was pouring the dark amber liquor over ice, and I’d seen him with a big-busted bimbo with curly hair down to her ass and eyes that were blue, but not as blue as mine. Her dress looked as if one incautious breath and it would fall to the floor, and from the hungry way Jim was staring at her, I didn’t think he’d object too much if that happened. 

He’d swaggered out with his arm around her, and I’d knocked back Jim’s drink and ordered another one. I’d gotten blitzed and woke the next morning in bed with a hangover and a fuzzy tongue, and the band’s drummer, who was male, and the bass player, who was female. 

‘Uh… Thanks, guys. Gotta go.’ 

They mumbled something, curled around each other, and went back to sleep. My ass wasn’t sore, so I hadn’t been fucked, and there were used condoms tossed all over the place, so I hadn’t been stupid. I scrambled into my clothes and left. 

Jim had been my ride the night before, there were no cabs around on New Year’s Day, and it looked like I had a long walk home in the rain. I spent most of it calling Jim every bad name in every language I knew. 

When I got to 852 Prospect, I was soaking wet and miserable. When I got into the condo I shared with Jim and found it empty, I was even more miserable. 

I turned up the heat and started a fire in the wood stove, then stripped off my rented tux and left it on the floor of my room. It was wool, and I had a feeling it wasn’t going to react well to the rain. I’d probably have to find a part time job to pay for it. The Cascade PD paid me zilch as Jim’s ride along observer, and what I earned as a teaching assistant at Rainier barely covered necessities. 

I pushed that worry out of my mind, padded barefoot into the bathroom, and took a shower as hot as I could bear it. Once most of the chill was out of my bones, which happened to coincide with the hot water running out – if Jim came home any time soon, he’d only have very cool water to shower in, I thought smugly – I wrapped a towel around my hips and another around my head, and went to the kitchen to make myself a cup of tea. T

here was an itch at the back of my throat, and I could feel a cold coming on. I’d gotten a powerful remedy from the Mombatus in Kenya that would stop a head cold dead in its tracks, and while I waited for the water to boil, I scrounged up the ingredients I would need. It was nasty-tasting, but it would definitely be good for what ailed me. 

Well, maybe not _quite_ what ailed me. If my roommate had wanted to sleep with someone who looked like me, why didn’t he understand he could have had me? I usually topped, but for him I would have bent over in a Cascade minute. 

I’d always tried to be honest with myself. I’d gotten drunk to blunt the hurt of seeing my roommate leave with that woman. 

The realization hit me like a ton of bricks – I was in love with Jim Ellison. 

God, that was so pathetic. The bi boy and the straight boy? Talk about clichéd. 

_You’re going to have to leave._

“No!” I couldn’t. I was Jim’s guide, he needed me. _Then you’re going to have to keep your feelings a secret._

“I can do that.” It would call for obfuscation on the grand scale, but I could do that. 

The steam as I poured the boiling water over the herbs was enough to clear my sinuses. 

I left the tea to steep and put on sweats, then took my tea into the living room, turned on the TV, wrapped an afghan around me, and settled myself on the loveseat. 

Fantasies were going to be the sum total of my love life from now on, so I might as well get used to them. 

I put the cup of tea on the coffee table, sat back with my legs spread wide, and slid a hand past my waistband. 

My palm was warm from the cup, and I liked that warmth on my cock. My palm was smooth, too. I hadn’t been on a field expedition since I’d just before I’d moved in with Jim, so the only callus on my hand was the one on the middle finger of my right hand, where a pen or pencil would rest. 

I leaned my head back on the loveseat and closed my eyes. 

I’d be so lost in the feel of my dick in my hand, in the teasing strokes, that I wouldn’t hear Jim’s key in the door. He’d walk in, toss his keys into the basket, and hang up his jacket, but I’d be completely oblivious. 

Jim wouldn’t be though. He’d see me on the loveseat, take in the wanton sprawl of my legs, and he’d come to stand in front of me. Something would cause me to open my eyes, and my breath would snag in my throat, and I wouldn’t be able to take my eyes off him. Usually Jim’s eyes were a cool blue, but not this time. This time they would be hot with promise. 

He’d lick his lips. “Couldn’t wait for me, Chief?” 

“Wha… what?” My mouth would be dry, and I’d hardly be able to get a single word out. 

“Sandburg at a loss for words?” He’d drop to his knees and ease those sweatpants over my hips, freeing my cock, and when he saw it, dusky and hard and with pre come glistening at the tip, he’d suck in a breath before he pulled the sweats off my legs. 

One hand would tickle my balls, while the other tightened around the base of my cock, and then moist heat would envelope it, and I’d rock up, driving my cock deeper into his mouth. 

Jim would pull off me, and I’d moan. He’d drag his tongue over the tip and say, “Uh, uh, uh, Chief.” 

I’d stare at him with dazed eyes, wondering if he was trying to drive me crazy by sucking his finger in and out of his mouth. And then he’d take his finger out of his mouth and swoop down on my cock once again, and he’d start sucking me in earnest. 

And that wet finger would stroke across my hole, dipping in just a bit, and the sounds that would come out of my mouth would be desperate and needy. He’d work his finger in deeper, deeper, and I’d jam the heel of my hand into my mouth or I would have screamed when he rubbed against my prostate. 

“Want my cock there, Chief?” 

“Yes! Please!” I’d be unashamed in my begging. 

Jim would pull me close to the edge of the loveseat, shove my legs back and spread my ass cheeks, and then I’d feel his tongue licking, probing, and I’d be so out of my mind that when he finally took me with one, smooth thrust, my eyes would roll back in my head and I’d be on the verge of passing out. 

But the best would be that he’d lean up and kiss me, and that alone would cause me to explode all over the two of us… 

I did come, but alone – still alone – and I wiped my hand on my sweats, then hauled myself up and staggered to my room. Jim would smell it the minute he walked it. 

That was one of the things that really sucked about having a Sentinel for a roommate. 

I stripped off my sweatpants, stuffed them in the hamper, and put on a clean pair. 

Not too long afterwards, I heard Jim’s key in the door. He looked tired but pleased and so sated, and I wanted to knock him down and stomp on his straight ass. 

“Have a good time, Casanova?” What I wanted to ask was where the fuck he’d been since last night? 

“Actually, yeah. I had a very good time. How about you?” 

“My ride left me, and I had to walk home in the rain.” 

“Uh, Chief, it wasn’t raining last night.” “It was this morning. My tux is a mess, and I’ll have to pay for it.” 

“I’ll chip in, Sandburg.” 

I mumbled a ‘thanks’. I wasn’t that proud. 

“So… uh… you were out all night?” 

“What? You think you’re the only one entitled to a love life? Are you going to see her again?” 

“Probably. What about you? Are you going to see her again?” 

“Probably.” 

“I guess we’ll both have a very happy new year.” He gave a lopsided grin and headed for the loft, and I watched his ass the whole way up. 

It was going to be a very long rest of my life. 


	2. Chapter 2

But it turned out it wasn’t. William ‘Buck’ Bonney died, we went to Hecate House where two more men died, but we came away from it lovers. 

“Who’d have thought, babe?” I stroked the arm that cradled my head. 

“What?” Jim’s breath was warm as he laughed in my ear. “That a tough, macho cop-of-the-year who’d also been a covert ops Army captain and was a Sentinel to boot would like taking it up the ass for his four-eyed geek?” 

I turned my cheek and nipped his shoulder, then licked it. “I’ll be glad when we won’t need to use condoms anymore.” 

“Yeah. Once we have that follow-up blood test, and it comes back as clean as the first one… “ 

“Ten more weeks, Jim. I’ll tell you something. As soon as we get those results, I’m donating every one of those suckers to Planned Parenthood.” 

He shivered behind me. “Every time I think of you taking me without a condom, being able to feel you come inside me – god, babe, I can’t tell you how hard that makes me!” 

“You don’t have to tell me. I can feel it.” His dick was hardening against my ass. “My turn?” I leaned up and turned my head to capture his lips. Usually they softened and parted beneath mine, but this time they didn’t. He had gone still. “What is it, Jim?” 

“We’re about to have company. Better get dressed, Chief.” He rolled out of bed and reached for his briefs and jeans. 

“Were we expecting anyone?” I was doing the same when I heard someone knock on the door. 

“Nope.” The knocking became impatient. “Keep your shirt on!” Jim yelled. He picked a shirt up off the floor where all our clothes had been flung and struggled to put it on as he went down the stairs. I could hear him muttering about the freaking cleaners shrinking his clothes. 

“That’s my shirt, Jim!” I found his under the bed. How the hell had it gotten there? I grabbed it and trotted down the stairs, interested in seeing who was paying us a visit at this time on… “Hey, it’s Valentine’s Day!” Maybe the person at the door was delivering the flowers I’d ordered for my lover? Though it was kind of early. I draped Jim’s shirt over a chair and dug out my wallet for a tip. “Who is it?” 

He didn’t say anything, just backed away from the door. 

A short, matronly woman seemed to float into the loft, and the door shut behind her. 

Jim looked from the door to the woman, inhaled deeply, and then the unease and tension smoothed from his face, and he smiled at her. 

“Looks like we’ve got company, Chief.” 

“No sh… kidding.” 

There was something earth-mother-ish about her. She kind of reminded me of Naomi, my mom. She wore an off-white garment that I recognized as a peplos. It was pinned at both shoulders with large, open pins, the kind Herodotus had written were used to kill the sole survivor of a disastrous battle. The ladies of Athens must have figured he should have died with their men. A purple ribbon wound through her hair, which was piled high on her head. Her arms were bare. 

This February in Washington State had been mild, but it still paid to wear some kind of jacket. 

A sharp whine drew my attention down. At her heels was a small, foxlike dog – correction, bitch – with smooth, short hair, a wedge-shaped head, and a sickle tail. 

“She’s an Alopekis?” I squatted down and held out a hand to the dog. She looked up at the woman as if to get permission to come toward me. 

“Yes. You are familiar with the breed? Her name is Alastrina.” The woman must have given some signal, because the dog sidled up to me, her movements almost coquettish. I ran the backs of my fingers against the white blaze on her chest. Her jaws parted, her tongue lolled out, and I would have sworn she was grinning. 

The woman snapped her fingers, and Alastrina trotted under the dining room table, turned a couple of times, and lay down, her head resting on her paws and her dark eyes watching us with interest. 

“The lady looks a little cold, Chief.” Jim was turning the heat up. 

“Yes, I’m sorry.” I straightened and took a sweat jacket from its hook on the wall. “You must be freezing. The clothes you’re wearing don’t look very substantial.” 

Somehow I had a feeling that she would be more comfortable in summer and fall. She allowed me to drape the sweat jacket around her shoulders. 

_Allowed_? That was an odd thought. 

She murmured something in a foreign language. 

My Greek was rusty, to say the least, but I remembered enough to reply, “You’re welcome.” 

Her gaze slid from me to Jim. His jeans rode low on his hips, and the shirt he wore, _my_ shirt, hung open to reveal his fine pecs and six pack abs. 

“Want to give me my shirt back, Beau Brummel?” I took his from the back of the chair and held it out. 

Jim looked down at himself. Color ran up his cheeks, but he grinned and stripped off the shirt to swap with me. It was still warm from his body, and normally I’d take the time to savor it, but not this time. 

“You’re awfully comfortable with having this stranger in our home,” I sub-vocalized. 

“I’ll go make us some coffee. Entertain our guest in the meantime.” 

“Excuse me.” I smiled at the woman and hurried after my lover. “Jim, what’s up? And don’t you say, ‘Me, maybe?’” 

“Okay.” He didn’t smile, as I’d hoped. “Somehow, I don’t see her as a stranger.” He took out the coffee beans and measured a portion into the grinder. “I… I can’t explain it, Chief. I do feel comfortable around her. I know this sounds crazy, but she feels like … home? Nurturing? She smells of fresh-baked bread. She kind of reminds me of Sally.” 

Sally was William Ellison’s housekeeper. Jim had spoken of her. She had taken care of him and his brother Steven after their mother left. 

“Well, in that case I won’t have to fight her for your honor.” I started to button my shirt. 

He tugged a lock of hair free from where I’d tucked it behind an ear and brought it to his face, rubbing it across his lips and inhaling. “You’d fight for me?” 

“Are you crazy? Of course I would!” 

“There’s no ‘of course.’” 

That pulled me up short. The Sentinel of the Great City needed assurance? I thought of all the women who had been in his life, and the men. I wasn’t foolish enough to think I was his first man, that he’d come to me a virgin. Had none of them let him know how … how _lovable_ he was? How worthy of fighting for? I rested my hand over his. 

“Yes, I’ll fight for you, Jim. All the demons in hell, all the angels in heaven, and the odd bozo here on Earth. I’ll never let you go.” 

His blue eyes, usually so cool, were warm. “I’m glad.” He reached into the neck of my shirt for the chain he had given me at Christmas. I was never without it, and he used it to draw me closer to him. “My hero,” he whispered against my lips, and then, in spite of the fact that there was someone else in the loft with us, he kissed me. 

“Jim, I…” His other hand dropped to my butt, and he goosed me. I jumped, and we both laughed. 

“Go entertain our guest.” 

“Anyone ever tell you that you were bossy?” 

“Why, no. Why do you ask?” 

“Smart ass.” 

“But you love me anyway.” 

“You know I do.” I kissed him. “Get the coffee done, will you? I need some caffeine.” I went back into the other room. The woman was standing by the French doors, gazing out into the gray morning, and I crossed to her, dredging up my Greek. I started to welcome her in that language. 

“I thank you for that courtesy,” she interrupted as she turned to me, “but I speak your language.” 

I gave a slight bow. “Welcome to our home. I’m…” 

“Blair Sandburg. Yes, I know. I am Demetria.” Eyes the color of leaves in late summer stared into mine. “You are the owner of Hecate House.” 

“No. That would be the United States government.” 

Her smile was amused and tender, and she cradled my cheek. 

I heard myself asking her, “Is there any way I can help you?” I didn’t question how I could be willing to do anything in my power to help her. 

“You must return with me to Hecate House.” 

“No,” I said with regret. “I’m sorry, Lady, but that house is bad news.” 

“Not ‘lady.’ Just Demetria.” She looked straight into my eyes. “You and your man, you realized you loved one another there, did you not?” 

We had done our damnedest to be discreet about our relationship. How did she know that? I cut a glance toward Jim, who was entering bearing mugs of coffee. He shrugged. 

She touched my hair. “You are a good man, Blair Sandburg.” 

“I always thought so.” Jim offered her a mug. 

“Always?” I took a mug too. 

“Always, Chief.” He touched his mug against mine. “From the moment you shoved me under a garbage truck.” 

“You are a good man also, James Ellison.” She smiled at him. She didn’t seem at all disturbed by the fact that Jim and I were lovers. Well, I guessed her being Greek and all she wasn’t too taken aback by men in a physical relationship. Her smile broadened. “The Sibyl would have told me, had I not been able to discover this for myself.” 

“The Sibyl?” This was getting really weird. It felt like we had just stepped into the Twilight Zone. “You mean the lady in the cave? There were ten of them. Which cave?” It would be way cool if it was the one from Delphi. 

“It is not important.” She sipped her coffee. “This is very good. Thank you. Please, you must eat. Time is of the essence, and we do not have much of it to waste.” 

“Would you mind explaining why we need to go back to Hecate House?” Jim went into the kitchen, and we followed him. “Eggs, Chief?” 

“Why am I not surprised? Sure, that’ll be fine.” I put bread in the toaster, took three plates from the cabinet, and began to set the table. “Lady…” She looked as if she’d object, and I gave her my most winning smile. She nodded slightly, and I continued. “Lady, suppose you tell us why we need to return to Hecate House.” 

“You are aware of the vile reputation of this house.” 

It wasn’t a question, but I nodded anyway. “Although isn’t ‘vile’ a little harsh? People are going to whore and gamble and drink, even when it’s illegal. Well, look at Prohibition. Didn’t do a damn bit of good.” 

“Isn’t what’s forbidden always most desired, Chief?” He turned to say something to Demetria, but she was staring at us, an eyebrow arched in surprise. 

“Is something wrong, Lady?” 

“You do not quarrel.” 

“Sure we do.” 

“You do not quarrel now.” 

“Why should we?” 

“If you will permit?” 

I shrugged, and she placed the fingers of one hand on my temple and the fingers of the other on Jim’s. Abruptly, the words reverberated in my mind. _What’s forbidden is most desired._ And I found myself watching as I seemed to quarrel with Jim. 

It was vitriolic and petty on Jim’s part, mulish and childish on mine, but in the end, I wrapped my arms around his waist; he wound his hands in my hair; our mouths were a breath apart. 

_You are mine. Just as I am yours._ The words came from both of us. 

And from somewhere I thought I heard a howl of frustrated rage… 

“Chief? Blair!” Jim was shaking me. 

“What the…?” I blew out a breath and shook my head. “I haven’t had an experience like that since… “ 

“Where’d we go, babe?” 

“If I didn’t know better, I’d swear it was a hallucinogenic experience. Lady, what just happened? 

“I am sorry. I did not realize she would act so quickly.” 

“‘She’?” Jim pulled me to his side, his hand on my hip, connecting us. 

“Lady, perhaps you had better tell us exactly why you need us to go back to Hecate House?” 

Demetria touched a finger on my Mizpah, then did the same to the one Jim wore. “This is what protected you from her venom. Sit and eat.” 

“Oh, damn! The eggs!” Jim rushed to stove, and hero that he was, he saved them in the nick of time. The toast, however, was toast, a lost cause, and I threw the burnt slices out and reached for more bread. 

The eggs were a little cool by the time the bread was toasted, but once we sat at the table and Demetria began speaking, we didn’t even notice. 

** 

Demetria finished her tale, and Jim and I sat there, both a little shell-shocked. 

“I think, perhaps, it would be best for you to change into more appropriate clothing. I will wash the dishes and tidy the kitchen. Go. Go.” 

“Get our stuff laid out, would you, Chief? I just want to show Demetria where everything goes.” 

“Very anal, man.” 

“But you love me anyway.” 

“This is true. Hurry up.” 

I ran up the stairs to the loft, made the bed quickly, then skinned out of my shirt and sweatpants. We’d need thermal underwear. It was cold outside, and I didn’t like being cold. 

Our thermals were lightweight but they did a great job. They were in the dresser that held our clothes. 

I put Jim’s set on the bed along with lined jeans and a quilted flannel shirt, put my clothes beside his, and put on my thermals. 

“Well, damn. I was hoping to catch you in the buff.” Jim crossed to the bed. 

“That was quick. What’s the skinny?” 

“Chief, you’re the anthropologist of the team. What do you make of it?” 

“That her daughter was kidnapped years ago and has been held all this time in Hecate House? It doesn’t make any sense.” 

“But we’re still going to help her out.” Jim didn’t bother unbuttoning his shirt, just pulled it up over his head and dropped it to the floor, and dropped his jeans beside it. I was distracted. 

“Hey! I’m not picking up after you! I may be your guide, but I’m not your nanny!” 

Jim chuckled and started to dress. His movements were quick and efficient as he put on his clothes. I stood there, and when he realized how I was ogling him, he blushed, tucked his shirt in and zipped his jeans. 

“I hate going back to that house.” I brought my attention back to the present. 

“I wasn’t the one with a hood when he got offed.” 

“That wasn’t… Dammit, Jim. How many times do I have to tell you it wasn’t my fault?” 

“I’m sorry, babe.” He came to me and pulled me against him. “You know I was just yanking your chain.” 

“I know.” I leaned into his embrace. “We’re going?” 

“Yeah,” he sighed, “we’re going.” 

“Tell me why.” 

He shrugged. 

“I don’t get it, Jim.” I stepped back, and he released me. “We were there in December, and between us and the Feebs, that house had a damned thorough going over.” AD Sloan had loosed a sextet of agents to scour the place. 

“The only thing we found that time was the painting in the wall in the basement.” He sat on the bed to lace up a pair of boots. 

“And the figure in the painting stepped out of it.” I shuddered. That had been a freaky moment, seeing those sightless eyes turn to search for us. I sat beside him and laced up my own boots. “Man, Jim. That’s one fucking weird house. I get the heeby jeebies every time I think about going back there. Again, I have to ask you why? Not why we’re going to help her, but… why?” 

“I don’t know, Chief. I just know we have to help her.” 

“ _We_ , Jim?” 

“Yeah.” He ran his hand over his hair. “We both have to be there.” 

“Not that I’m objecting, but…” 

“It has something to do with the fact that we spent the night there and didn’t die or go nuts.” 

“Well, you know me. Whither thou goest.” 

“Do you mean that?” 

“Mean what?” 

“That you’ll marry me?” 

I opened my mouth to say something glib, like, ‘How did we get on the topic of marriage?’, but Jim’s expression had become closed, and I realized he was serious. 

“Jim,” I stood and pulled him to his feet, then put his arms around me, and looped mine around his neck. “You should know I don’t say what I don’t mean. As far as I’m concerned, we’ve been married since you put this chain around my neck. But if you want a formal ceremony, I’m game.” 

He relaxed, pulled me closer, and nuzzled the spot under my ear. “As soon as we get done with this, we’ll catch a flight to Massachusetts?” 

“There’s gonna be a lot of red tape, Jim. The blood tests, the waiting period…” and most importantly, the fact that our marriage wouldn’t be recognized in the state where we lived. 

“Simon will give me the time off. We can go to Niagara Falls for our honeymoon. Say ‘yes’, Chief.” 

There was more to it than that. Chancellor Edwards wasn’t going to be happy with me taking time off, Jim’s colleagues at Major Crimes weren’t going to be happy with him marrying someone who wasn’t female. 

But I looked into Jim’s blue eyes. His heart was in them. He knew the stumbling blocks as well as I did, and he still wanted to make our relationship legal. 

What choice did I have? I said yes.


	3. Chapter 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Jim's POV

I’d learned long ago that I liked guys. Girls were nice, soft and sweet-smelling, but guys – you didn’t have to hold back with guys. 

I’d also learned to conceal the fact that I liked guys. Things were chilly between my father and me, but if he’d ever found that out, there would have been no hope of even a cold relationship. 

I joined the army and rose to the rank of captain. After that debacle in Peru, I came home and joined the Cascade PD. I was eventually promoted to detective in Major Crimes. To prove how heterosexual I was, I even got married. It only lasted eighteen months. 

‘Poor Jim,’ I’d hear them say behind my back. ‘He just can’t get over Carolyn.’ 

The fact was, I was long over her, but it gave me a perfect excuse not to date any woman for longer than a few weeks, if that. 

A couple of times a year I’d head for the big city, New York, San Francisco, Los Angeles, Boston, New Orleans, and satisfy my craving for a hard body. 

Only that craving was never really satisfied. 

I could never find anyone I trusted enough to let fuck me. I bought a dildo in Boston, feeling my face flame as I placed it on the counter and reached for my wallet, but the clerk simply smiled and said, “Your girlfriend is gonna love this model.” 

_I_ loved that model, but it was rubber. I missed the closeness of a lover. 

That became the least of my worries when my senses went berserk, and I thought I was losing my mind. That was when I met Blair Sandburg. T

here was something about Sandburg. From the moment he bounced into that waiting room in the hospital, telling me ‘McKay’ was the Gaelic pronunciation of ‘McCoy’, to me shoving him against a wall in his office, calling him a neo-hippy witch-doctor punk, and it taking all I possessed not to press up against him, to him pushing me under that garbage truck… 

I couldn’t tell him, of course. Macho-cop-of-the-year-with-a-case-record-that-couldn’t-be-topped – I couldn’t say, ‘Screw my senses, come to bed with me.’ 

I had a feeling, well, more a hope really, that he might swing both ways – the curly hair, the mouth that seemed to beg to be kissed, the body – Okay, that was shallow, but I was almost positive that I’d caught him checking me out a time or two. 

He never made a move, though. So, reluctantly, I’d come to the conclusion that it had been wishful thinking on my part. Sandburg, horn dog without rival, who would hump anything that stood still long enough, went through almost as many women than I did. 

That should have told me something, but I was too busy being a hard ass to pay attention. 

I’d always been lucky, though. The place he was living in was blown up by his neighbors, the friendly, neighborhood drug dealers, and I offered to let him move into the small room below the stairs in my condo. It almost drove me crazy, knowing he was below me. There were nights… I could hear the way his heartbeat increased, the slick sound of his hand on his cock, the moans he muffled with his pillow, but which I could still hear, and it was enough to get me off. 

That was the way things stayed, until Simon ‘ordered’ me to accompany Sandburg to that hell house he’d inherited. 

Lucky. Because sometime during that night, he’d wound up in my arms, and he’d sighed, “Jim. Love you, man.” Granted he had been asleep, and yeah, I’d been pressed up against his back, but he’d said it, and I had every intention of holding him to it. He wasn’t going to toy with my affections. 

He didn’t. Blair trusted me enough to let me fuck him, even though I found out later that he usually topped. He seemed happy with the way things stood, didn’t press for equal opportunity fucking, but I started to worry that maybe one day he’d want more, and if I couldn’t give it to him, he’d leave me. 

That was the first time I ever had anything up my ass, other than my proctologist’s finger and the rubber dildo. Blair took his time, and he made it the most unbelievable experience I’d ever had, to the point where I preferred to bottom for him. 

I didn’t tell anyone at Major Crimes. Well, most of them didn’t even know about my senses. They liked Sandburg, called him Sandy or Hairboy, but as far as they were concerned, he was just the ride-along observer who also happened to be my roommate. 

But Simon Banks, captain of Major Crimes, must have realized there was something more than that between us because he questioned me about it on Christmas Eve. 

“Don’t make me have to choose between Blair and the department,” I told him, “because there won’t be a choice. I’ll pick Blair every time.” 

He’d backed off, but when I’d called to tell him Blair had been kidnapped, he’d gotten on the horn and notified Lewiston PD. We’d gotten out of Hecate House before the local law enforcement turned up, but it was the thought that counted. 

Criminals have no sense of the holiday season. I had to go in to work later on Christmas Day, and Blair came with me. He sat as his desk, tapping away at his laptop, the same as he’d done since we’d become partners, but that day, something was different. 

I reached into the collar of my shirt and closed my fingers around the charm that hung from the chain around my neck. It matched the one I’d given my lover. 

Abruptly I realized what the difference was. I felt married. 

** 

I thought about it quite a bit after that. When I’d married Carolyn Plummer, it had been an effort to convince everyone around me that I was straight. I’d nearly had an anxiety attack when we’d exchanged vows. 

But now, the more I thought about it, the more I wanted it. I knew Blair loved me, he’d told me so plenty of times, but did he love me enough to exchange vows with an anal, compulsive detective who had a few years on him? Well, maybe more than a few years? 

I couldn’t bring myself to ask him. Suppose he said no? Suppose he liked things the way they were and didn’t want them to change? Suppose he thought I was being pushy, possessive, and he didn’t like his lovers like that? 

Suppose he walked out? 

I kept telling myself I’d bring up the subject. Soon. The end of the week. The beginning of the month. Soon. 

I kept putting it off. Finally, in desperation, I set a date. Valentine’s Day. I’d ask him on Valentine’s Day. 

We were in bed, and I opened my mouth, but instead of, “Marry me, Chief,” what came out was, “We’re about to have company. Better get dressed, Chief.” 

The interruption was caused by a small, Greek woman, who came in without being invited. I relaxed when all my senses told me it was safe. 

Over breakfast she told us why we needed to go with her to Hecate House. 

“I think, perhaps, it would be best for you to change into more appropriate clothing,” she said once we were done eating. “I will wash the dishes and tidy the kitchen. Go. Go.” 

“Get our stuff laid out, would you, Chief? I just want to show Demetria where everything goes.” It was the only excuse I could come up with at short notice. 

“Very anal, man.” 

“But you love me anyway.” 

“This is true. Hurry up.” And Blair ran up the stairs to the loft. 

I turned to the woman. “Demetria, you have our assurance that we’ll do our best to return your daughter to you.” 

“Yes. And we… I thank you. You will be well rewarded.” 

“That isn’t necessary, ma’am. It’s my job. But I’d like to know why you selected us, Blair and me?” 

“You stayed the night in Hecate House.” 

“Yes. So?” 

“No one has done this.” 

“What about the… um… the girls who used to work there?” 

A blank stare, then she shrugged. Her dog began to yap, high-pitched, and I flinched and lost track of the conversation. 

“As I said, James Ellison, time is of the essence. Hurry.” 

“Uh… okay.” I found myself giving her a smile and doing as she said. Maybe Blair would be able to figure this out. I thought proudly of all his degrees. He was the brains, after all. 

Only it made no sense to him either, and when I told him we both had to be there, he gave me a smile and said, “Well, you know me. Whither thou goest.” 

“Do you mean that?” My heart was pounding, and I couldn’t catch my breath. 

“Mean what?” 

“That you’ll marry me?” 

There were roadblocks, of course there were, but if he said yes, I’d move heaven and hell to overcome them. 

He said yes. 

** 

We could have stopped for lunch in Lewiston, the town closest to Hecate House, but the woman who sat between us radiated the desire to hurry, to keep going. 

I continued driving along I 5. We were approaching the lay-by where we’d made love this past Christmas, on our way home from that house. 

“Pull over, Jim.” Only a Sentinel would be able to hear his words. 

“What?” 

“Pull over. I’ll drive.” 

“I can…” 

“You can’t.” His lips were barely moving. “You’re picking up vibes from our passenger, and they’re distracting you, making it hard for you to stay on our side of the road.” 

He was right. “Thanks, Chief.” 

“What do you do?” Demetria demanded. “Please. We must hurry.” 

“Blair’s going to spell me.” 

“But we are almost there…” 

“Jim needs a rest.” The dog had been resting her head on Blair’s knee. Her tail thumped on the floorboard, but when he pushed her away and got out, she gave an unhappy little whine. He paused long enough to run his knuckles under her muzzle, then trotted around to the back of the pickup. 

I left the ignition running and the heater blasting, got out, and met him there. 

“I’ve made this run before, Chief.” 

“I know. Humor me, okay?” 

I touched his hair, leaned forward, “Okay,” I said against his lips, and then I kissed him. 

We got back into the truck, and I buckled up. The dog placed her head on my knee, and Demetria smiled at me. 

“My Alastrina likes you. I like you.” 

“Lady,” Blair sat with his hands on the steering wheel, but didn’t buckle up, “why didn’t we see your daughter when we were last in Hecate House?” 

“I will tell you once we have arrived.” 

“I don’t think so.” He switched off the ignition. I gave him a puzzled look, and he shook his head and faced the woman between us. “We’re willing to help you, but unless you tell us how your daughter could be there, without eleven people finding her, I’ll call this off right now.” 

I did some quick figuring in my head. Six agents beside the two who kidnapped Blair, the AD, Blair, me… Yep, that made eleven. 

She signed. “You did find her.” 

“Excuse me?” 

“When you went into the cellar. A panel in the wall had opened.” 

“The painting?” 

“She has been trapped in that painting for long centuries. Always we were just steps behind her. First she was a fresco on the Ludovisi Throne. After that a mosaic, a caryatid, a lekythoi. That is a vase,” she clarified. 

“Yes, I’ve seen them. The most beautiful was a Bocotian black-figure. It was dated mid-7th century B.C.” Was there anything Blair hadn’t seen? 

We were all silent, and then she said, “You do not mock me.” 

“Ma’am, we saw the figure in the painting step out of it. She was swinging a scythe, she tried to kill us.” 

She opened her mouth, and Blair raised his hand. “Please, don’t tell us she’s been misunderstood, that to know all is to forgive all. We’re going home.” 

“You cannot do this!” 

“I can. Lady, I don’t wish to seem disrespectful, but I am Jim’s guide. I protect the protector.” 

“We have to help her, Chief.” 

“Jim…” 

“Trust me, Blair. Put the truck in gear.” 

He groused but buckled up and did as I told him. 

“Demetria, we’re mortal men. Yes, I got the impression you’re more than you appear.” 

Blair snorted. “Oh, yeah, Einstein? When did you realize that?” 

“Almost from the start, babe. It’s not logical for me to trust someone I’ve just met to the degree I trusted Demetria.” 

“But you trusted me, didn’t you?” 

“Yes, but that’s completely different.” I rested my arm along the back of the seat and tugged his hair. He gave me a quick glance, but it was long enough for him to see me mouth, ‘I love you.’ “Watch the road, would you, Chief?” 

Demetria touched my arm, then touched Blair’s. “You will not be unaided. I will help you, and Graeae. And my husband, if he wishes to ever again share my bed.” 

The dog whined and licked the woman’s hand, and she stroked its head and smiled. In all my time in the army, in all my years on the Cascade PD, I’d never seen a smile that cold or that cruel. 

Blair and I exchanged glances over her head, and we both shivered.


	4. Chapter 4

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Eros's POV

It was a foolish accident that started it all. 

I had never fallen in love. I had seen what my arrows did to god and mortal alike, and I vowed silently that it would never happen to me. I took my pleasure where I found it, but had a care never to endanger my heart. 

I was in my palace of alabaster and gold and abalone, seated cross-legged on a pillow on the floor, my wings folded neatly at my back, separating my arrows, lead for disinterest, gold for love, into their proper quivers. I looked up to see the Lord of the Underworld swagger in. 

“Eros.” 

“Hades.” I rose gracefully to greet him, for was the god of love nothing if not graceful? 

The warm expression in his eyes told me the sight pleased him, and that pleased me; I had always found him easy to look upon, the tight black curls that covered his head, the eyes like ebony... 

A slight pain startled me, and I stared in shock at the tiny drop of blood that beaded in the center of my palm, caused by a golden arrow gripped carelessly. 

It did not occur to me to be cautious of where I next let my gaze fall. I raised my eyes and beheld the dark, muscular god before me, and I fell helplessly in love. 

Not hopelessly. As the god of love, I had no doubt I could make him love me in turn. “What may I do for you?” 

But at that moment, Demeter arrived. With her was her daughter Kore, the maiden. 

“Greetings, Eros.” Her voice grew chill, “Hades,” and she turned, pointed, from him. “Eros, I come at Aphrodite’s request.” 

“That is odd. She is not here.” 

“Strange.” Her foot tapped impatiently. “Perhaps I misunderstood. Come, sweetling.” Her expression as she gazed upon her daughter was beyond loving. “You said you wished to gather flowers with your friends?” 

“Yes, please, Mother.” She gave us a small smile, and they were gone. 

“I want her.” Hades’ face was flushed with lust. The black eyes he turned to me burned with his passion. He did not love her, but he wanted her. “You will see to it, will you not, Eros?” 

My heart bled, but I nodded. “Of course.” 

There would be no ‘of course’. Instead, when the maiden wearied of gathering flowers on the plain of Enna and sat beside the pool of the naiad Cyane, trailing her fingers in the cool water, almost as if she were stroking the soft flesh of a lover, I shot her with a golden arrow, and she fell in love with Cyane. 

I watched as the two embraced, their lips but a breath apart. 

Abruptly, the earth split apart, and Hades emerged in his chariot, as black as the six steeds that drew it. Flames shot forth each time a hoof struck the ground, and the ground itself trembled. 

Hades seized the maiden and pulled her to him, while Cyane cried out in horror. To stop her cries, he struck the waters with his sword, and the young naiad, dissolved in tears of despair, sank to the bottom of the pool. 

And I? Unable to do anything but watch in helpless dismay. 

“Cyane! You brute!” Kore beat at his chest with her small fists, crying, “Mother! Mother!” But it was to no avail. He silenced her with a kiss, and in the blink of an eye they vanished. 

Zeus materialized out of the air. Since there were no females for him to try to lure to his bed, he was in his usual guise of king of the heavens. “That was well done, think you not?” He rubbed his hands in glee. 

“What have you done?” 

“You were too slow in acting. Hades came to me.” 

“And you gave him what he wanted.” I could not curse the king of the Olympians, but, oh, how great was my desire. 

“Yes.” He preened. 

“Demeter will not be pleased to learn her daughter has been abducted.” 

“Nonsense. Kore is my daughter too. And after all, all mothers want their daughters wed to kings.” He ran a hand over my golden feathers, tugged one loose, and used it to caress my lips. 

I felt soiled. “I must go.” And with no more than that, I left him standing there, gloating over the success of his scheme. 

I spent my nights at the River Cocytus, the river of lamentation, lamenting a love I could never have. 

And my days… 

My days were spent standing on the balcony of my palace, gazing down toward the Underworld. 

“This must cease!” Zeus appeared in my great hall, his mien harassed. “Demeter bewails her daughter’s loss, and you …” 

“I thought all mothers wanted a king for their daughters.” All of Olympus knew of Demeter’s anguish, and all on Earth felt it. 

He scowled at me. “Things are getting out of control!” 

True. The land withered, became sere, and bore no fruit. 

As for I? Mortals had to fall in love – or not – without my intervention. 

I shrugged and walked away from him, out onto the balcony, where I stared down into the clouds that circled the crown of Mount Olympus, and he stormed away, shouting for Night. 

A soft breeze wafted through my feathers, like a lover’s touch, and I arched into it. 

Behind me, someone approached. I did not need to turn to know it was Nyx, my mother. Her step was soundless; she could have been treading on air. But then, she probably was. The goddesses of the pantheon had no need to set their dainty feet upon common soil. 

Petty. My thoughts shamed me. 

She came to stand beside me, slid an arm around my waist, and rested her head upon my shoulder. 

“My son.” 

I said nothing, did not meet her eyes. 

“You are sad.” 

“That surprises you?” 

“You are the god of love.” 

For all the good it did me. “The one I love is pining for someone who is pining for someone else.” 

“Zeus has spoken to Demeter, has spoken to Hades. Persephone will be returned to her mother.” 

Of course, Persephone. She was no longer a maiden. “Hades wants her still. He will bide his time until she returns to him.” 

“But he will be lonely. It is not good to be alone, my son.” With that, she pressed her fingertips to my cheek and left me to ponder her words. 

It was not good to be alone. I went to visit Hades in his kingdom. 

His palace was ebon – onyx and obsidian and jet – the surfaces so polished I could see myself reflected back in the torchlight. 

“What do you want?” he snarled when he saw me standing before him. “What good is the love I bear Persephone, when I can only have her with me for part of the year?” 

“Have me for the other part of the year,” I said in low tones. 

“You?” 

I found myself pressed up against a rough stone wall, feathers of my wings broken, and yet I was so aroused I felt nothing but the need to be possessed by the one I loved. 

His teeth grazed my throat, and he inhaled deeply. “You smell of musk.” There was a tearing sound and my linen tunic fell to the ground, shredded. “Your skin is soft, but beneath it I can feel sleek muscles.” His hands wandered over my body, stroked over my chest to rouse nipples that pleaded for his lips, his teeth, his tongue. His fingers flexed over my hips and pulled me close against the hardness of his body, and he took my mouth with ferocity, biting and sucking. 

“I want you,” I whispered. I knew better than to speak of love. I dug my nails into his back and blindly sought his lips. 

“Yes!” he growled, his breath warm and sweet as wine against my mouth. “Show me your tricks, pretty god.” 

My head was spinning as if I were in a whirlwind, and when the whirlwind stopped, I was on my back on a bed that no matter how soft, was painful against my broken feathers. I sat up enough to free my wings, the broken feathers healing even as my wings unfurled, and Hades caught his breath at the sight of my wings extended. He pushed me back down, pushed my thighs back and apart, and touched roughened fingertips to my cock, over my balls, and teased the sensitive skin behind them to dip shallowly into my hole. He pressed a kiss to a bottom cheek, then spread them, and his cock, thick and hard, breached my opening, thrust deep into me, and his mouth swallowed my moans. 

There was no pain – with immortals there never was – but I had never been taken like this before. The sounds that spilled from my mouth were like those made by my acolytes, male or female, as I made love to them, but I cared not. I arched up to meet each thrust and begged him for more. 

Hades caressed the blond curls that covered my head, that covered my groin, gave a hoarse laugh, and bit down on my earlobe. He rolled us over, and I was above him, impaled on his cock, and I whimpered and shivered. 

“Such wide blue eyes. Fly for me, pretty god.” He gripped my hips with powerful hands, and had I been mortal, bruises would have decorated the pale flesh. 

My extended wings gave me balance. I leaned back and braced my hands on his thighs, flexing my fingers to knead the hard muscles. I closed my eyes and concentrated on the rise and fall, and whimpered when I felt his palm close around my cock, and he began to pull, all the while his cock, deep inside me, brushed against a spot of which I had been completely unaware. 

How could I, the god of love and sexual desire, not have known of this wonder? 

His eyes dark and hot and snaring mine, my lover pressed his thumb on the crown of my cock and rubbed in circles, spreading the fluid that beaded at the tip, and with a startled gasp, I flew as I had never flown. Hades pulled me down as he surged up, and heat flooded me as he joined me on that flight. 

My wings enfolded us, shielding us from any who might come in search of the dark lord. I placed the palm that had been pricked by the golden arrow over his heart, and we slept. 

** 

Time seemed to pass in the blink of an eye. 

I lay on my stomach on our bed, while my lover stroked the pinions and vanes of my unfurled wings, making sure each golden feather lay just so. 

“I love your wings,” he murmured, and nuzzled the spot where they joined my spine. I wriggled in voluptuous pleasure. 

“My Lord, my Lord!” One of his minions hovered in the doorway, its cloven hoof pawing the tiled floor, the grimace that passed as a smile on its face. “Your Lady is here!” 

“Persephone!” He was gone before I realized it, a feather drifting to the floor. That tiny hurt was nothing compared to the pain that tore at my heart; that would have brought me to my knees had I been standing. 

How could mortals bear it? I

gave myself a shake, rose and dressed in my tunic and sandals, and returned to my palace on Mount Olympus. 

** 

Time passed, although not so quickly. Finally, with the approach of spring, Persephone returned to her mother once more, and I returned to my lover. 

Hades was pleased to see me, so pleased that he had me on his bed before I realized it, and as he entered me, he took my hand, brought it to his mouth, and, eyes fastened to mine, caressed the tiny scar with lips and tongue. 

And so it went, year after decade after century. Until… 

“Eros.” 

“Nemesis. Welcome, Sister.” It was once again Persephone’s time to be with Hades, and I was in my own palace. I went to her and kissed her on first one cheek and then the other. “I have not seen you in quite some time.” 

“I have been busy, dispensing divine justice, little brother. How do I find you?” 

“I am well.” 

“You do not look well.” She frowned at me. “You would not tell untruths to your sister, would you?” 

I sighed. “This is my affair,” and I flushed as I realized the truth of my words. 

“You are hurting. I do not like to see this.” 

“This is my choice, Nemesis. You will not hurt him, promise me!” 

“‘Him’?” Her dark eyes narrowed. How odd that I of all the family should be so fair. One would have thought Aphrodite had given birth to me. 

“Hades. The Lord of the Underworld is my lover.” 

“Hades, who is wed to Persephone? Oh, little brother, this is not well done.” 

“He needs someone during those months when his queen is with her mother. Who better than the god of … of sexual desire?” 

“But then he sends you away when she returns.” 

“Sister, it is my choice.” 

“Is it? One might think you pricked by one of your own arrows.” Her eyes narrowed again at the flush that ran from my torso to my forehead. “Is there an antidote?” I shook my head, and she studied me thoughtfully. “You could shoot him with a golden arrow.” 

“I cannot.” I raised my hand to forestall her protest. “If I could… But I love him so much… I want what is best for him. I … I cannot.” 

“You are a fool.” I flinched, and she took me in her arms and rocked me. “Nevertheless, I love you, and that is without the aid of an arrow. I will make things well for you, little brother.” 

“You will not hurt him!” I commanded. 

She murmured something I did not understand. 

“What was that, Nemesis?” 

“I will not hurt… him. This I promise you.” She embraced me and left, and when nothing seemed to happen, I thought, not that she had forgotten her vow, for she did love me, but that her duties as goddess of vengeance occupied her time. 

Spring approached, and Persephone went joyous to her mother and I, even more joyous, to the god I loved. 

My time with Hades flowed on and on. During the day I visited my temples, which were filled with tokens of gratitude, for there were fewer and fewer mortals who found their love returned with indifference. And the nights were spent with my lover. 

I awoke one morning with a start. Hades was pacing the sleeping chamber. 

“What is it, my lo … lord?” 

“It is mid-summer.” 

“Yes?” 

“It is mid-summer.” 

“I do not understand.” But abruptly I did understand, and I felt myself turn cold. “Persephone…” Of course she knew of us, that during the months when Spring walked the Earth, I was in her husband’s bed. A secret could not be kept on Mount Olympus. “Why has she not returned?” 

“I do not know.” 

“I will leave.” I got out of bed and began to dress. I would not bathe and wash his scent from my body, not now, perhaps not for a long time to come. 

“Why?” 

“Pardon?” 

“Why do you leave, my pretty blue-eyed god? I have not asked you to go.” 

“But surely…” 

“Eros.” His eyes were warm, warmer than when he had looked upon Persephone when she was still Kore. He took my hand and turned it over, revealing the small scar on my palm, and brought it to his mouth. Then he turned over his hand, to reveal the golden arrow, and beside it, on his heartline, a drop of blood. He stroked my blond curls, and drew me into his embrace. “Persephone may be my Queen, but you, my pretty god,” he tipped my chin up and kissed me, “you are my own.” 

** 

I never learned how Nemesis managed to do what she did, or what promise she exacted from Demeter to prevent the Earth from once again suffering perpetual Winter. 

All I knew was that Demeter gave over her duties to Hestia, goddess of the hearth. There was some discontent among the gods who remembered Demeter’s reaction the first time she lost her daughter, but Zeus permitted it, and so Demeter left Mount Olympus, once more to search the Earth for her beloved daughter. 


	5. Chapter 5

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Jim's POV

“Between Zeus and that brother of his, my Kore, my treasure, was stolen from me. She was the light of my life, the joy of my soul, the... “ Demetria stared at the passing scenery as tears spilled down her cheeks. I handed her a handkerchief, and she murmured her thanks and dabbed her eyes. “When I would have finally had her returned to me, she was tricked into eating the seeds of a pomegranate.” 

Blair nodded but didn’t take his eyes off the road. “Thereby dividing the year in two.” 

“Yes. That… that _gossip_ Ascalaphus took delight in informing both Zeus and Hades, and having partaken of the food of the Underworld… “ There was bitterness in her voice, her expression darkened, and I was relieved we weren’t the ones who had ticked her off. It wasn’t a smart idea to mess with Mother Nature. “But I dealt with them, although they were unaware. When my daughter sat with her head in my lap and wept her heart out – I thought she wept for eventually having to leave me and return to the Underworld, but finally she told me it was because her love was drowned in a pool. Foolish child. As if naiads could drown. I took my daughter to the pool of Cyane, and their reunion was …” I could hear the almost inaudible hitch in her voice. “I am her mother, and whether to Hades or to Cyane, I have lost my Kore. Until the end of time, she will be Persephone.” 

“Lady, why didn’t you go into despair the way you did when Hades first abducted your daughter?” He was in full anthropologist mode. There was nothing he loved more than learning new things. Well, except me. 

“Think you I did not?” 

“But…” He gestured to the panorama on either side of the road. 

“Nemesis was a very powerful goddess who loved her brother Eros very much. I was used to wonder if perhaps she loved him too much,” Demetria mused. She appeared lost in thought. “Eros was pricked by one of his own golden arrows; he fell in love with Hades.” 

Blair and I glanced at each other over her head. Was that a non sequitur? 

“Nemesis entrapped my precious child. To this day I do not know how.” Her dog whined and licked her hand, and she stroked its head. “At any rate, she persuaded me not to let Earth fall into eternal Winter, for one day there would come those who would help me rescue my dear daughter.” 

“I’m sorry, ma’am. I don’t understand. And keep your eyes on the road, would you, Chief? You’re making me nervous.” 

“Sorry, babe.” The sweet smile he sent my way was the one that always got to me. My jeans grew snug, his smile broadened, as if the little geek knew, and he turned to watch the road. He was _my_ little geek, though, and I didn’t mind him knowing how much he turned me on. “It was Nemesis, Jim. To give her beloved brother what he most yearned for, she had to get the woman who was in the way, um… out of the way.” He gave me an apologetic grin and made the turn onto the road that lead to Hecate House. “So somehow she got Persephone into the fresco?” 

“Yes. When the Ludovisi Throne began to show its age, a mosaic was crafted, and my child was spelled into it.” 

“And then the caryatid, and then the vase.” 

She nodded. “Each time, I was so close to finding her, but always I was a fraction of a second too late. It became like salt in a wound. It is not easy for you, who have one merciful god, to understand, but Zeus was all-powerful, and very spiteful. He never forgave me for going to the other gods and forcing him to give me my daughter back. His punishments were … inventive.” 

“Bastard,” Blair muttered under his breath. 

“So Persephone is in the painting now?” A thought occurred to me. “In the wall? But I thought that was Hecate. Chief, didn’t we see a snake coiled round her legs?” 

“Maybe you did, Jim. You’re the Sentinel.” Blair smiled at me again, his gaze caressing me, and I shifted in my seat. “I was too busy trying to duck that sickle.” 

“No, James Ellison. The painting is a representation of my child as Queen of the Underworld.” 

“I don’t understand how that painting of Persephone wound up in Hecate House, ma’am.” 

“What better way to punish both me and Hecate? The goddess of the crossroads was my daughter’s companion from the time of her first return from the Underworld, and she grieved her loss almost as much as I. Why would we seek Kore… Persephone… in a place supposedly devoted to my … my sister goddess?” 

“But as the goddess of enchantment, sorcery, and witchcraft, wouldn’t that make her the most likely candidate to have cast the spell?” Blair braked and brought the pick-up to a stop in front of Hecate House. 

“No.” There was no way to challenge such certainty, even though I had come across plenty of cases where people trusted by the family had done unspeakably shitty things. 

“If it had not been for my dear… friend, I truly would have let the Earth wither and die, no matter what Nemesis had to say.” 

“I have one question, Lady.” 

Blair ignored my muttered, ‘ _One_ question?’ 

“Once we free Persephone from the painting – and I still want to know how you expect us to do that – won’t things return to the way they were?” 

“My daughter spending half the year with me, and the other half with her… husband?” She shrugged. “Over the vast eons, things have changed.” 

That was an understatement if ever I heard one. 

“Forgive me for asking, Lady, but is it because the Immortals no longer have believers?” 

She shrugged again. “Over such a vast period of time, the ebb and flow of the seasons has been woven into the fabric of time itself. They can no longer be changed. As for believers…” She sighed and turned her head away. “We Immortals have only ourselves to believe in us now.” 

Blair echoed her sigh. He turned off the ignition and stared at Hecate House. “Y’know something, Jim?” 

“What, Chief?” 

“I hate this house. It’s like something out of Stephen King.” 

“I know what you mean.” 

The snow that had fallen at Christmas, giving it a picaresque, kind of Norman Rockwell look, had long since melted, and the house looked even more aged and forlorn than the last time we had been here. 

“Would you look at that?” he groused. “How come the Lewiston cops never took down the crime scene tape?” 

The tape was torn and ragged, adding to the desolate feel of the scene, and loose ends snapped in the chill February breeze. Simon would have torn someone a new one if this had happened in Cascade. 

“They were never here.” 

“What? Simon – Simon Banks, my captain – told me he was notifying them!” Would he have lied, retaliating because I’d told him about my relationship with Blair? 

Demetria gestured to the passenger door, and I unbuckled my seatbelt and got out. 

“I have no doubt that he did. I also have no doubt that someone else called to cancel those orders.” 

I blew out a breath, relieved that Simon hadn’t gone homophobic on me. “Here, let me get the dog.” I lifted Alastrina down. The dog gave a soft yip, trotted up the walk and the steps to the porch, and sat down. She glanced at us over her shoulder. 

Demetria unbuckled her seatbelt and got out, and we stood beside the pick-up, waiting for Blair to come around. 

“Man, I’ve got a bad feeling about this, Jim.” He tossed me the keys. 

“Tell me about it.” I stuffed them into the back pocket of my jeans. “You think the Feds had something to do with it?” 

“They were the ones who wanted us here that night. Though I have no clue what they thought we could do.” 

“They were under the impression that the Empusae were behind my sweet child’s entrapment.” Demetria pulled the sweat jacket she wore around her. 

“The who?” 

“Not the rock group, Jim.” How serious could it be if my lover was making jokes? “Empusae. They were a demonic cult that claimed to follow the goddess of the crossroads.” I went cold. He was whistling in the dark. “Isn’t that right, Lady?” 

“Yes. However, my dear friend would never permit them to do something so despicable. To steal my child and imprison her for endless eons... No. That is not to say that Nemesis could not have deceived them into thinking they were doing as their goddess wished.” She gazed at the leafless trees, the dead shrubs, and the dry patches of grass. “I miss Spring.” 

“So do I. Lady, I don’t know what you think Jim and I can do.” 

“More than you imagine, although once you enter the house you will begin to understand.” Demetria touched the spot where the Mizpah I’d given my lover hung. “You have strong protection.” She did the same to where my charm rested on my breastbone. “There will be more who will help. “ 

“And all I wanted to do on Valentine’s Day was ask you to marry me.” 

“And you did.” His blue eyes were bright with happiness. “So. You really do want to marry me? You’re not just saying that to get in my pants?” His words were a soft murmur that went no farther than my ears. 

“I’ve already done that, Chief.” 

“Yes, you have. And I’ve done you.” 

A flush climbed to my widow’s peak, not from embarrassment, but from the desire that almost overwhelmed me. He ran his fingertips over my jacket sleeve. 

“Come.” Demetria gave no sign that she was aware of our byplay. “We must go in. There is much to be done.” 

We followed her onto the porch. 

“You still haven’t told us what we’ll have to do.” Blair paused, his hand on the doorknob. “We’ll probably have to break a window to get in, Lady. The AD Feeb locked it and took the key with him.” 

“Do not worry, young shaman.” 

“If you say so.” But I could tell from his tone of voice that he would worry. I squeezed his shoulder, and he dipped his head and rubbed his cheek against my fingers. 

“Dial ’em way down, Jim. The smell was ripe last time. If no one has been in here since Christmas, God knows what it’ll be like now.” 

“Got it, Chief.” I made sure all my senses were under tight control. 

“Okay, giving it a shot.” The knob turned easily under his hand, and he jerked it back. I could hear his heart rate and his breathing ratchet up. “It does that every freaking time! Do you have any idea how that freaks me out?” 

“I’ll protect you.” I rubbed his upper back. 

“You will? My hero.” 

“You bet. I’ve got you, babe.” 

“Very cute, Sonny Bono.” 

“But you love me anyway.” 

“Well, yeah.” 

I realized we were stalling. “Come on, Chief. The sooner we get this done, whatever ‘this’ is, the sooner I can hit Simon for some time off and we can book our flight to Massachusetts.” 

The dog scooted around our legs and past the open door. She came to a halt in the doorway of the dining room, her tail tucked between her legs. Her hackles rose, her muzzle wrinkled to bare her teeth, and low growls spilled past her curled lips. 

“I really hate this house, Jim.” 

“Alastrina.” Demetria snapped her fingers, and her dog slunk back and crouched at her heels, but never took her eyes from the doorway. Power seemed to vibrate through the woman. She walked into the hallway, and we followed her. 

“It’s warm!” Blair unzipped his jacket and tossed it aside. “Oh! Oh, wow, man! Jim, take a breath!” 

I breathed in cautiously, then breathed more deeply, letting my sense of smell climb higher and higher on the dial. 

It was all the scents of summer. Freshly mown grass, flowers in bloom, ripening fruit, the air after a rainstorm, and beside me my lover, saturated in pheromones. I was almost drunk from the scents. Blair leaned against me, and I felt the heat of his desire. I lowered my head to caress his lips with mine. 

He moaned softly into my mouth and tugged at my jacket. It was still zipped. I let him go long enough to unzip it and yank it off, then pulled him back against me. 

“Come, we must go down to the lower level.” Demetria’s words curbed the passion that ran through us, but though the flames abated, they didn’t go out. 

“Yeah, sure.” I grabbed his arm and dragged him after me into the dining room. 

“Jim, wait!” Blair yanked me to a dead stop. “Where did this woman come from?” 

“Demetria?” 

“No.” He gestured toward the island that separated the dining room from the kitchen. “That woman.” 

I shook my head, wondering if my eyeballs were stuck together. “I don’t see anyone.” 

The look he gave me was not one of the ones that promised me a wild night. 

“I’ve got my senses dialed all the way up, Chief. I’m not picking up anything.” 

“I have a feeling… Lady?” He was tense. I felt the passion leaching out of him, and in turn it leached out of me. 

Demetria’s expression was grim. She was looking toward where Blair said the woman stood. 

“I still don’t see anyone.” 

Demetria touched my arm, and I glared at her, getting irritated. 

“If that’s supposed to do anything, it’s not,” I growled and took a step toward the kitchen. 

“No!” Blair jumped in front of me, his action so abrupt I nearly stepped on his heels. His hand gripped my hip, and I blinked. It was as if his touch had lifted blinders from my eyes. 

Before us was a woman whose beauty was tempered by the stern, cold aspect of her features. She was dressed in a peplos similar to the one Demetria wore, except that it was unrelieved black. A black ribbon wound through black curls, keeping them piled high on her head. Her black eyes watched us dispassionately. 

“Who the fuck is this, and where the fuck did she come from?” 

“Nemesis, Jim.” 

“Nemesis?” 

“Yeah, the goddess behind Persephone’s disappearance. She’s barring our way to the basement.” 

The goddess’ expression became disdainful, and she said something that was Greek to me, but apparently understandable not only to Demetria, but to my lover as well. 

“She just asked Demetria if she thought _we_ could do what so many others couldn’t,” he translated. 

“Rescue Persephone, you mean?” 

“Yeah. Over the centuries, Demetria found other couples who were willing to help, but they all failed.” He snarled something at Nemesis, and she took a step toward us, which I interpreted as a threat. 

“I know you’re a whiz kid, Chief,” I whispered in his ear, “but it’s not a smart idea to piss off immortals.” I grabbed my lover and spun him around so that he was behind me. He stared to struggle. “No!” I kept him in place. I was the Sentinel, after all, and as much as my shaman would protect me, I was there protecting him right back. 

There was a burning against my chest, and I closed my fingers around my half of the Mizpah. 

Nemesis stopped, her expression now becoming thoughtful, and she murmured something and stepped aside, allowing us to pass. 

“It’s okay, Jim.” Blair came from behind me, gripping his half of the charm until his knuckles turned white. He was so pale, but I didn’t pay any attention. Blair Sandburg, my guide and Shaman of the Great City, told me it was okay, and I believed him. He looked into my eyes, and it didn’t matter that I couldn’t understand the words of the goddess of vengeance. “It’s okay. Let’s go.” 

We continued through the dining room to the kitchen, and down the stairs to the basement. I thought I caught a glimpse of the sleek, black of my panther, and the brown of Blair’s wolf. 

“You must go there.” Demetria gestured toward a corner. Beyond it was the space where her daughter was imprisoned behind the wall. 

Like the last time, there was more light than could be accounted for, only this time, the brightness was not firelight but sunlight. 

I walked toward it. 

From somewhere came the sound of the panel in the wall sliding open. There was no smoke to obscure my sight of her. I could see the figure in the painting clearly. 

She was much younger than she had appeared at Christmas. Her eyes, blue as a spring sky, were filled with sadness and loss, and a single tear clung to eyelashes that were so thick they could get tangled in each other. 

_Help me. Please, set me free._ The words seemed to echo in my head. I walked toward the painting, in a trance. 

I was no more than a couple of yards away from it when a I heard a sound I didn’t expect to hear in the basement of Hecate House in the winter. 

Birdsong. 

I blinked and looked around. I was in a meadow, but not alone. My lover was beside me, his palm on my chest, and hot, sweet desire flooded through my body. 

All my senses were so high on the dial that when a warm breeze caressed my face, I shuddered, the pleasure almost orgasmic. A voice seemed to whisper in my ear, ‘Think how much better it will feel when your lover loves you, touches your naked body with his warm...’ 

… skin, I filled in. 

“Jim.” My lover’s palm withdrew. “I don’t…” And I felt bereft, abandoned. 

“You do! You have to!” I began pulling off my clothes. Shirt and undershirt went flying. Boots were kicked off. “Please! I want you so much!” Socks followed, then jeans and shorts, and I stood before him, naked. 

“Jim!” Blair’s pupils dominated the blue of his eyes. A faint sheen of sweat covered his forehead, and his lips parted and his chest heaved as he panted. “No!” 

“Yes! Come to me!” I backed further into the meadow, holding my arms out to him. 

He took one step forward, then another, but it was as if he was fighting not to come any closer. 

“Don’t you want me?” I asked plaintively. I didn’t understand his hesitation. 

“Say my name.” “Chief. Blair… Don’t you want me?” I asked again. Hurt ripped through me. 

“Yes, I want you. I’ve always wanted you.” 

“Then come to me; make love to me. We’re alone in this beautiful meadow. The air is so sweet, the grass is so soft. Think how soft it will feel under our naked bodies.” A small voice seemed to be whispering in my ear, telling me over and over not to do this, that beyond unspeakable pain, I would be damned for all time. I throttled the voice. This was Blair, my lover. My love. He would never hurt me. “Please, Blair. Make love to me!” 

I lowered myself to the grass, and it was as soft as I’d imagined it would be. It seemed to caress every inch of my skin, shoulders, spine, ass, legs, driving my need to be taken by him higher than it had ever been. I braced on my elbow, my eyes on my lover’s. My legs were spread, and I ran the fingertips of my right hand over my balls with teasing touches, then stroked my cock. 

His face grew flushed. I could feel the heat of desire radiating from him in waves. He stripped, and in seconds he was naked and running toward me, and I shivered in anticipation. 

But before Blair could throw himself on me, he skidded to a halt with a cry. Pain twisted his features, and he swayed and dropped to his knees. Groaning and clutching his head, he fell over and curled into a fetal position. 

Something was wrong with his back. His spine seemed to crawl, as if his vertebrae were a separate, living entity, and he screamed. His arms and legs shortened, hair sprouted and covered his pale flesh, his nose and jaws elongated into a muzzle, and his screams turned to howls 

I found myself frozen in place. No matter how hard I battled the invisible restraints, I was unable to get to my lover, and I howled myself. 

The sudden silence shocked me out of my struggles. 

A wolf lay where my lover had been, with thick fur that was the color of his hair. He rose unsteadily to his four feet and shook himself, then raised his head, sniffed the air, and turned to face me. 

_BE AFRAID!_ a voice thundered in my head. 

“Blair?” I couldn’t move, didn’t want to move. 

The wolf took a step toward me. His jaws parted, and a long, pink tongue lolled out. Around his neck was the silver charm. 

_BE AFRAID! BE AFRAID! BE AFRAID!_ the voice shrieked. 

Blue eyes looked into mine, and I could see my lover looking out of them. “Blair.” 

There was no need to be afraid. I sank back down on the lush grass, and the wolf walked to my supine body. He sniffed my toes, and the feel of his cold nose against them caused me to jerk my foot away. Blair knew how ticklish my feet were. 

The wolf looked at me, and I would have sworn he was laughing. His tongue flicked out again to lick my foot from heel to toe, and while I was laughing helplessly, he pounced, and his body straddled mine. I buried my hands in the soft, thick fur of his ruff and brought his face down to mine. He gave a soft woof and pulled free, and worked his way down my body. His tongue swept over my nipples and dipped into my navel. 

I bucked and twisted under him, breathless and giddy, and petted his ears and head and shoulders. He made his way lower and… 

Warm. Wet. The feel of his tongue on my cock… I groaned and tried to arch into the rough caress, tried to wrap my legs around his muscled, furry body, offering myself to him, but a large paw on my hip kept me from moving. 

One last lick to my cock, and he stepped aside and nudged me over onto my stomach. I shivered at the knowledge that he was going to mount me, and I balanced myself on hands and knees. His paw pressed down on my upper back, and when his claws scraped the skin, I realized why he wanted me positioned like that. If he wrapped his forelegs around my chest, his claws would rip me to ribbons. 

I folded my arms, lowered my head to them, and spread my legs wide. My guide’s cock was thick, even in his wolf form, and I knew that with no lubrication, his possession of me would be painful, but I also knew, without knowing how I knew, that this needed to be done. 

I should have known my lover would never hurt me. That warm, wet tongue lapped at my balls, teased the skin behind them, and I gasped and shook as it curled and pushed into me, a filling, satisfying sensation. 

It didn’t take him long to prepare me, and then he positioned himself on my back. His fur was soft and cool against my back, but his groin was hot against my ass. His hips jerked as his cock sought to find its mark, and I crouched and bowed my back further to give him easier access. 

And then his cock found my hole and slid in, and he lay on my back, the weight keeping my shoulders close to the ground. His tongue licked my jaw, my ear, and his teeth closed gently on my neck. The steady thrust of his hips drove his cock deep into me. Each movement forward brushed past my prostate; each movement back did the same, again and again and again, and it drove me wild – it was in so far I was sure I could feel him in my throat, then out completely, and for desperate seconds I was left feeling empty and hungry to be filled again. I rocked back, frantic to feel him inside me. But before I became too frantic, he drove back in, shoving past the tight ring of muscle, stretching me, filling me. 

One last, hard shove that made me grunt, and he went still. His knot was just past the ring of muscle, and it began to swell, giving me the fullness I had wanted. The pressure continued to build, and then he came, and scalding liquid flooded my bowels, triggering my own orgasm. His weight pressed me closer to the ground. My legs trembled and finally gave out, and I sprawled beneath him, the action driving his cock deeper into me. 

His breath came in rapid pants, hot on my neck, and every once in a while, his tongue would sweep out to lick the sweat from my shoulder or my neck. 

Finally, his knot shrank enough for his cock to slide out, but he didn’t move to get off me. I rested my head on his foreleg, gave a contented sigh, and fell asleep like that.


	6. Chapter 6

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Blair's POV

This had to be a dream. 

Although, every time we were in Hecate House – well, all two times – weird things had happened, so maybe nightmare was more like it. 

Jim and I had driven Demetria – Demeter – to Hecate House in order to rescue her daughter from the painting she’d been trapped in forever. 

The closer we got to the house, the worse the feeling I had about this whole thing. I tried to cover it with obfuscations and jokes, but I wasn’t fooling Jim. We’d lived together too long, he knew me too well. And he loved me. 

We went into the house. The smell of corruption that had been so heavy at Christmas was gone, replaced by the scents of spring and summer combined, and instead of the chill that had been in the air, it was warm and balmy and intoxicating, I was kissing Jim, losing myself in him, and… 

“Come, we must go down to the lower level.” 

I shook myself. Yeah, we did have that to do, rescue her daughter who had pissed off a goddess it didn’t pay to piss off. 

Jim didn’t let me go; his hand was warm on my arm as we went into the dining room. 

We hadn’t gone more than two steps when we stopped short. A woman was standing before the doorway to the kitchen, blocking our way, and there was something about her that told me she wasn’t mortal. 

When Demeter spoke, my fears were confirmed. 

“Who the fuck is this, and where the fuck did she come from?” 

“Nemesis, Jim.” My mouth was dry. 

“Nemesis?” 

“Yeah, the goddess behind Persephone’s disappearance. She’s barring our way to the basement.” 

“Pain,” the goddess of vengeance and retribution vowed as her eyes bored into mine. “If you make this choice,” she gestured toward the stairs that led to the basement, “the most intense, unbearable pain. What Prometheus felt will be as nothing to your fate, and there will be no Herakles to rescue you.” 

My insides felt as if they had turned to water. 

I had never been a big proponent of pain – I’d had more than my share of it on field expeditions in various parts of the world. Back when I still believed I’d live forever I’d been able to deal with it, but I started looking thirty in the face, and I realized time was too precious to waste getting hurt. 

I looked at Demeter and swallowed. Her face was grim. 

Jim was tense. His senses told him something was up, but he didn’t know what we would be facing – he didn’t understand Greek. “

It’s okay, Jim.” And he believed me, because he loved me, trusted me. 

Nemesis’ smile was mocking. I could tell from the look on her face that she didn’t think we would be successful in doing whatever had to be done to free Persephone. She stepped aside and let us walk past. 

We went down into the basement, and Demeter pointed us toward the area where the painting of Persephone was hidden behind the wall. T

he panel started to slide open, and I grew tense myself. The last time that had happened, the figure in the painting had come out swinging. 

And then… 

Freaking weird things happened in Hecate House. One minute we were in the basement, waiting for Billie Jean King to step out of the wall, and the next we were standing in one of the most beautiful meadows I’d ever seen. 

I knew that pain awaited me there. 

But Jim was there also. 

Jim, who shed his clothes, teased and lured, trying to get me deeper into the lush grassland. 

Compared to being with him, having him, pain didn’t matter. 

I was so hard I ached. I unzipped my fly and sighed in relief as the pressure eased, but it wasn’t enough. I needed to bury my dick into his hot, tight ass, feel his muscles ripple around me. I stripped and ran toward him. 

Before I could reach him, I was blindsided by the pain Nemesis had promised, intense, unbearable, unbelievable _PAIN_. 

I collapsed to the ground, screaming, as my skin stretched and altered, as bones and tendons reformed themselves. 

At the base of my spine, flesh and bone and hair – fur – rearranged themselves, and a tail emerged. 

My skull flattened, my face elongated to become a pointed muzzle, and my mouth filed with razor-sharp fangs. 

Finally, the transformation was complete, and I staggered to my feet. 

A warm breeze blew against my face and ruffled my fur, and I raised my head. There was a scent in the air, and I whined. Saliva flooded my mouth. 

I was hungry. Oh, God, I was so hungry! My belly cramped with it. 

“Blair?” 

I turned, and there was the man. 

_Food. Eat!_

I took a step toward him. 

“Blair.” There was no fear in him. He watched with hot eyes as I approached. He lowered himself to the lush, sweet-smelling grass and offered himself to me. 

This was Jim. My mate. 

NO! _FOOD_! 

With Jim’s eyes on mine, my hunger morphed into passion. I silenced the strident voice in my mind with a growl and turned my complete attention on the one I desired and loved with all my being. 

My cock slid out of its sheath, and I pounced playfully. I licked him, his toes, his nipples, his cock, and his taste exploded on my tongue. I inhaled, and I could smell his excitement. 

Was this how it was for my Sentinel? For a second I envied him his senses, and then he groaned, and all I could think of was him. I rolled him beneath me, dominated him, and mounted him, but even in the throes of passion I was careful not to hurt him with my claws. 

Our mating was wild, and the sounds – his grunts as I thrust into him, rocking him forward, his breathless moans as I pulled all the way out of him to slam back in, and my growls with each movement – made it even wilder. 

One last time, I drove my cock deep into him and bit down on his neck with just enough pressure to let him know he was mine. I felt my knot swelling, his hot, snug walls yielding to the pressure, and I tied with him. 

We both came, his howl joining mine; he collapsed beneath me, and we fell asleep. 

And in my dream sleep, I dreamed. 

~~~~

Demeter’s eyes were bright with tears, but her smile was filled with joy. She was standing with her arm around the waist of a woman who appeared slightly older. 

Alastrina sat beside her, while at the feet of the other woman lay a black-maned lion. The lion yawned, exposing a mouthful of sharp teeth. He looked at me, and I took an involuntary step back. 

“He will not hurt you, young shaman.” 

Of course he wouldn’t. My lover was of the Sentinel persuasion, and he’d sic his spirit guide on anyone who tried to hurt me. 

“This is my… sister goddess, Hecate.” 

“Lady.” I gave a slight bow, then frowned. “We were supposed to rescue Persephone! I’m sorry, we must have fallen asleep.” I blushed, thinking of what we had actually been doing that made us fall asleep. “I’ll get Jim. You can tell us what we need to do, and we’ll get right on it.” 

“You have already done what had need to be done.” 

“We have?” 

“You look perplexed, young shaman.” 

“When did we free your daughter? _How_ did we free your daughter?” 

“You made love to your lover in this house.” 

No, I had made love to Jim in a field of sweet grasses. She smiled as if I had spoken aloud. 

“That was all it took to free her? That doesn’t make sense. This used to be a whore house, lots of people had sex in this house.” 

“Without love it would be no more than animal rutting. In order for my daughter to be freed, the act had to be done by a couple who loved one another.” 

“You had many worshippers. Wouldn’t they have done this for you, long ago, so you wouldn’t have had to wait all this time?” 

“Those who came forward to try, died. Nemesis guarded well the entire secret of freeing my daughter, but no secret can be kept entirely, forever. I learned of it, that one of the partners needed to be a wolf.” 

“Bestiality? But it’s ... I mean …” I started to turn red. 

She waved away my embarrassment. “The wolf also needed to be sentient, and so I asked for help of Ares, whose sacred animal is the wolf. Only he was distracted by one of his never-ending battles, and instead of the wolf being evoked at will, it became possible only at the full of the moon.” 

“Werewolves?” So that was how the legend started. 

Her expression was sad. “Hecate tried to weave a spell to counteract, to no avail. The beast overwhelmed the man, fear overwhelmed the woman, and they both died.” 

“Man, that sucks.” I started to apologize, then realized that this was a dream. I could say something like that to a goddess. 

“Their sacrifice was not in vain. I saw to it that Hades allowed them the Elysian Fields. And then, through methods it is not necessary for you to know, I learned that both of you, Blair Sandburg and James Ellison, had spirit guides, and I knew you were the ones who would be able to call upon those spirit guides. I also knew that neither of you would have qualms about making love in this manner, thereby securing the release of my child.” 

She did? The red in my cheeks that had receded, returned with twice as much heat. 

“I… I see.” Weird, _weird_ dream. “So… She’s out of the painting.” 

“The painting is no longer her prison.” Demeter smiled warmly. “She has returned home.” 

“To the Underworld?” When the groundhog had seen its shadow on February 2nd, six more weeks of winter had been foreseen. 

“No. There is no longer a need for her to stay with Hades for half the year. She has gone to the pool of Cyane, to be with her love.” 

“How is Hades going to feel about that?” 

“He has someone who will keep him from being lonely.” 

“Well, that’s always good. What about Nemesis?” 

“Her brother is happy, and so she is happy.” 

So all the pantheon was happy. “Okay, that’s good. What happens now?” 

“You did as I requested. It is time to repay you.” 

“Oh, no, that’s okay. Really.” I didn’t think we wanted to be beholden to a bunch of gods who either couldn’t keep it in their tunics or else took pleasure in tormenting mankind when they weren’t tormenting each other. 

“You want nothing?” 

“No, Lady. We got out of this alive, so… Hold on a second. We are alive, aren’t we?” 

“You are.” 

I blew out a breath. “Well, then, that’s fine.” I’d never had one of those dreams where I jumped off a cliff and died – mostly they were sex dreams where I jumped Jim’s bones. “Jim and I have each other, and that’s all we ever really wanted. Though it would have been nice to…” 

“To ‘what’, young shaman?” 

“Jim asked me to marry him. We can do that, take a flight to Massachusetts, but it’ll take time.” Even then it wouldn’t be legal in Washington State. “I… it would have been … y’know, if we were married on Valentine’s Day, that would have been the most romantic thing.” 

She gave me an odd look. 

“What, just because we’re guys we can’t want romance in our life?” 

Both goddesses smiled. 

“Oh, well, it is what it is. If Simon gives Jim the time off, and if Chancellor Edwards doesn’t get pissy about it,” I did some quick figuring, “we could probably get married on Washington’s birthday.” Unless they didn’t cooperate. In that case, “Or the Ides of March. Or St. Patrick’s Day. There’s nothing in April, but in May we could tie the knot on Memorial Day.” 

A hand closed over my shoulder and pulled me back against a firm body. “Can’t, Chief.” Jim wrapped his arms around me from behind. “It’s a national holiday. Everything will be closed.” 

“Jim!” I looked at him over my shoulder. “What are you doing in my dream?” 

He tipped my chin up and kissed me. “I was invited.” He nodded toward Demeter. 

“Oh. Okay. So, if we can’t get married on national holidays, what does that leave?” 

“You are determined to be wed upon this day…” Demeter gestured behind us. 

Standing there was the most beautiful being I had ever seen. His eyes were the blue of the Aegean Sea, and the curls on his head were as golden as the sun, the same gold as the wings that folded neatly at his back. He was holding a pair of golden arrows. 

“Eros?” 

He smiled, and I slid my arm around Jim’s waist, claiming my territory. 

The god’s smile deepened. “You have nothing about which to be worried, shaman. I do not poach.” 

“You do not.” Someone appeared beside him, handsome in a dangerous way, olive-skinned, with black hair and eyes. His arm went around the golden god’s waist, and his stance was as possessive as mine. 

“Hades. Do you question my love?” Eros rested his hand against the dark god’s cheek. 

“No. Of course not.” The Lord of the Underworld turned his head and pressed a kiss to his palm. “

Then let me get on with this.” Blue eyes swept from me to Jim. “You ask for nothing, and so you will be granted what you desire most.” 

“Uh… okay.” 

“Chief?” 

“Go with it, Jim. It’s a dream.” Just a dream. 

“I’m trusting you on this, Chief.” 

“Have I ever steered you wrong?” 

“No.” Jim ran his thumb over my lips, and I parted them. “I love you, Chief.” He tucked a loose lock of hair behind my ear, stood at my left side, and nodded to the god of love. “Ready when you are, Eros.” 

Eros seemed very happy. “Look into each other’s eyes.” 

That wasn’t hard to do. Jim’s eyes were warm and so filled with love, and I sighed happily and lost myself in them. 

Eros took my left hand and pricked the spot under my ring finger with a golden arrow. He took Jim’s hand and did the same with the other arrow. 

“Join your hands.” 

We did as he said, and it was as if lightning flashed through me. _So this is what holding the third rail feels like._

The look in Jim’s eyes told me he was feeling the same thing. A soft sound left his lips, and he pulled me into his arms. “I love you, Blair.” 

“Ditto.” 

“Chief…” 

“Hey, it’s my dream. I can be silly if I want.” I was trying to conceal how overwhelmed I felt. We’d just got married. “I love you too, babe.” 

His mouth descended onto mine, and it was the most perfect, the most passionate kiss, and it claimed me as his, and him as mine. 

When our mouths separated, we were both having trouble catching our breath. We stayed in each other’s arms for what felt like an untold amount of time, I leaning against him and breathing in his scent, and he resting his chin on my hair. 

Finally, I stepped out of his embrace, but I held onto his hand. 

“Well, Lady, if you’ll excuse us, I think I’ll take Jim back to bed and get this marriage consummated.” 

“Isn’t that a little too much information, babe?” Jim toyed with a lock of my hair. 

“Nah. I’m dreaming, Jim. If this wasn’t a dream, _then_ would my face be red!” 

Demeter giggled, not a sound I would have expected from an exalted goddess, but then, it was just a dream. 

I grinned at Jim – my lover, my mate, my companion for life – and kissed the small hurt beneath his ring finger. 

“Go,” the goddess said, “and take with you our thanks.” 

We both bowed, and when I looked up, I wasn’t surprised to see we were alone. 

“C’mon, Chief. I believe you said something about consummating this marriage?” 

~~~~

I didn’t want to wake up, but I had to. I knew something was… not wrong, just… not the way it usually was. 

Usually, sometime during the night, Jim would wind up plastered against my back, one arm pillowing my head, the other around my waist where his hand would either go north and fondle my nipples, or south and fondle my cock, and I was a happy camper either way. 

But this time I was sprawled on my lover’s back, covering him like a blanket. His heartbeat was a steady thump under my ear. 

My eyelashes felt like they were glued together, and I had to separate them with my fingers before I could see anything. 

We were in our bed in the loft. For some reason I thought we should have been in Hecate House. 

“Chief?” Jim’s voice was muffled. His head was buried under the pillow. “Wanna make some coffee?” 

“Okay.” My eyes drifted shut. 

“C’mon, Chief.” He rolled over and tipped me onto the mattress. 

“Hey!” 

“‘Hey’ yourself.” He kissed me. “Did you sleep okay?” 

“Not too bad. Why do you ask?” 

“You were moaning in your sleep.” 

“I’m sorry I disturbed you.” 

“This is the only way you disturb me, Chief.” Jim rocked his hips against me, and I felt his erection. He reached between us and petted my hardening cock. 

“I like that.” 

“I know,” he murmured. I could feel his smile against my neck. “What was bothering you?” 

“Huh? Oh, in my sleep?” I thought for a minute, remembering the details. “I had one weird dream.” 

“Yeah? I did too. You were in it.” 

“And that made it weird?” He pinched my butt. “Ow!” 

“Smart ass. We had to save Demeter’s daughter.” 

I nodded. “Yeah. She was trapped in the painting in Hecate House.” 

“And you made love to me as the wolf.” “And I made love to you as the wolf… “ 

“Huh?” 

“Uh… Jim, it sounds like we had the same dream.” I wondered. Was it a dream? 

“It was one hot dream, babe.” 

“When it wasn’t being scary.” 

“This is true. Nemesis tried to make me believe I should be afraid of you.” 

“She tried to make me see you as lunch.” 

“You can eat me any time, Chief.” 

So I did. 

** 

Jim had fallen back to sleep after I’d gone down on him, but for some reason I was too restless to go back to sleep. 

I took a change of clothes, went downstairs and turned the heat up, then showered, shaved, and brushed my teeth. 

When I was done, I went into the kitchen to make a pot of coffee. I knew that was one scent that would wake my lover. 

While I waited for it to finish brewing, I thought about the dream we seemed to have shared. He’d asked me to marry him in it. 

Idly, I scratched at my left palm. 

I was a little surprised when I heard him walking around the loft. I’d expected him to sleep longer. 

He came down the stairs carrying a pair of briefs. “I’m gonna catch a shower, Chief.” He grinned at me and came around the island. “Make me some eggs?” The man did love his eggs. “I’ll make it worth your while.” 

“Okay.” I’d have to start watching his cholesterol. “How do you want them?” 

“Poached, fried, scrambled. Whatever.” 

“Anyone ever tell you you’re easy?” 

“Only with you, babe.” He ran his palm over my butt. “I won’t be long.” 

I liked his hands on my body. While I considered all the ways he’d done that, I got to work making an omelet. I started the skillet heating, chopped onions and peppers, grated some cheese, beat the mixture into the eggs, and folded it into the skillet. 

Jim kept his word. He was out of the bathroom, rubbing the towel over his head, just as I divided the omelet in two and slid his half onto his plate. 

“You’re a great cook, Chief.” 

“You live in the wild, you have to learn how to cook.” 

“Uh… would you tell me something, Blair.” He was rubbing his left palm on his thigh. 

“Sure.” 

“That dream I had…” 

“Yeah?” 

“I… uh… I asked you to marry me.” 

“You did? What did I say?” 

“You said yes.” 

“Hmm. Y’know, you asked me to marry you in my dream, too.” 

“I did? What did you say?” 

“I said yes, what else would I say?” 

Jim gave me the broadest, sappiest grin. He took my left hand and touched the small scar on my palm. 

“Who would have though same-sex marriages would become legal in Washington State?” 

“And even better that we could get married on Valentine’s Day.” 

“It was the luckiest thing in the world, Chief.” 

“Yes.” I stroked the matching scar on his palm. Dream or not, “The luckiest thing in the world, Jim.” 

And I leaned toward him, and kissed him. 

~End~

**Author's Note:**

> Thank you, as always, to Gail, who does a wonderful beta no matter what fandom I throw at her.


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